A police officer examines a motorcycle after a female stunt driver working on the movie ‘Deadpool 2’ died after a crash on set, in Vancouver, B.C., on Monday Aug. 14, 2017. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)

WorkSafeBC details safety violations in stuntwoman’s death on ‘Deadpool 2’ set in Vancouver

Five safety violations found by production company in 2017 filming of action movie

A Vancouver-based production company failed to adequately assess safety risks, provide necessary headgear and ensure a safe set during the 2017 filming of Deadpool 2 when a stuntwoman was killed, according to WorkSafeBC.

TCF Vancouver Productions Ltd. failed to meet five requirements under the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation and Workers Compensation Act after Joi (SJ) Harris was killed in a motorcycle stunt during filming in downtown Vancouver, according to a report released Wednesday.

According to witnesses at the time, Harris had been rehearsing the stunt near the Shaw Tower, riding slowly down a set of stairs and stopping when she reached the road at the bottom.

But when the scene was ready to film, the motorcycle had picked up speed and crossed the street, narrowly hit a pedestrian, and crashed into a window of a building.

The production company failed to properly assess the motorcycle, as well conduct a stunt safety inspection check – both required by its own health and safety program, the report said.

It also didn’t provide Harris with new-worker orientation or proper supervision, and did not set up barriers to prevent her from leaving the set perimeter, the report said.